The Washington critic., 1887-11-05
WASHINGTON, NOV. ., 1887.
INGERsoLJ, OGLEsDY AND THE
ANARyuIsTS,

huug' ihhl lsi uc peHo'cs 'h"s euo
Government Is great enough, strong
enough, safe enough 10 be merciful In
their behalf.
Whether the men are guilty or not
he leaves out of consideration alto.
gether lie certainly does not believe
that Judge Gary was correct In his
Instructions to the jury which convicted
them. But independently of all ques-
tion as TO the guilt ur innocence of the
condemned, as tJ the fairness or un.
fairness of the trial, the bias or no bias
OF the Court, Colonel lngers3ll holds
that the sentence Of death ought to be
commu,ed lie says:
tmay he that am lc TO tbs conclusion
because Of my belief that every man does rs
he must. This belief nuGci me charitable
toward all the world. This belief makes me
doubt the wisdom otrevcnge. Where
the criminal cannot he reformed, and tho
safety of society can I've secured by his I'm.
piisonmcnt, there Is 10 possible excuse for
destroying his life II Is far better
for society to have little mercy. The effect
upon the community will be good. II these
men are Imprisoned, peope Will examine
their teachings without prejudice. II they are
executed, seen through the tears OF pity their
virtues, their suiferlngs, their hcro'sm, will bo
exaggerated, others may emulate their deeds,
and the gulf between the rich and the poor
will be wldened-a gulf that may not close
until II has devoured the noblest and the best.
Colonel Ingersoll's plea for magma.
nimity rests upon humane and philo.
sophical principles. But II will be
suggested by those who favor no re.
taxation of the stern arbitramcnt of
the law thaxsff the Government is so
strong that 1t can afford to abate the
punishment OF those who assail 1t with
lawless and cruel violence, It is also so
strong that 1t need not be intimldated
from executing the judgments Of Its
courts by fears Of future retaliation
and renewed assaults upon the peace Of
society.
In the present Instance, however.
the case is out Of the reach Of the Gov.
ernment. excepting as 1t Is represented
In the Chief Executive Of Illinois. The
duty OF the Government Is centred in
one man, and It Is a tremendous re-
sponsibility for one man to be invested
with, whatever view he may take Of
the matter.
Whether Governor Oglesby agrees
with Colonel Ingersoll or not--whether
he consults the apparent public sentl.
ment of the country that the law should
take its course, or gives weight to the
appeal of thousands Of petitioners ask.
ing for clemency, 1t will require an
extraordinary degree of moral courage
10 pass upon the solemn question pre-
sented to him.
There was no braver man in the
Union army than Governor Oglesby,
and he made bloody attcstation Of his
heroism; but he is now brought face
TO face with the frownlng batteries of
public opinion more formidable than
any be encountered upon the field of
Corin,h and his for,ilude nears a far
severer test.
To be merciful-to be just-to be
both merciful and just-where the
lines of mercy and justice so cross one
another, and, starting from different
standpoiuts, run in different directions
with demand that he do this upor
the one hand clamor that he do tina
upon the other-with doubts and up
prehenslons upon every side as to tn
effect Of any conclusion-imposes upor
the Governor trust OF vast momen
TO the people Of the United States
necessitates the exercise Of the sound
est discretion, requires fearless de
cision Of character.
He may not entirely disregard th,
philosophical beliefs of Colonel Inger
soil touching this matter, nor should HI
altogether ignore the revengeful mouth
ings Of Editor Shevitch of the New
York Leader. These men represen
elements that have influence, though Ii
opposite directions-the one reaching
forward to an ideal peace-the other t.
anarchy and social convulsion.
But the main question presented t,
the Governor Is whether he shall inter
fere with the execution Of judicla
sentence that has been passed upon ant
appoved by the highest court Of justice
The court has decided the law point
in the case. II remains for the Cover
nor TO determine what, If any, qualify
ing circumstances exist, that will war
rant him in granting the condemned
men, or any OF them, pardon or CON
mutation. lie ia now the fiual arblte
of their fate,
CHAIRMAN JONI s. BARBOUR of tn
State Democratic Committee of vi
glnia, In view of the Legislative eic
lion to be held next Tuesday, has issue
a stirring address TO the Democrat
voters Of the State, urging them to d
their full duty and not permit Il
valuable fruit of the hard earned vi
tories they have won to slip throug
their hands by over confidence or III
concern. Not only is the election (
local importance, but says Mr.. Bl
bour:
u Is also important that Virginia should |
dorse the wise and patriotic course OF the y
tional Administration aud approve Its &c
eral measures OF public policy. This ma
festation can only be made by sustaining /
Democratic candidates on election day.
THE case of the young men charg'
with sending an alleged Internal m
chine to Chief Justice Waite al
attempting to dispose of purely SO
sational hoax as genuine news to VA
GUS newspaper correspondents, Ii
been postponed to next Saturday,
was not commendable piece of new
paper enterprise-would not have be-
AT any time. Under the circumstanc
and In view of the feverish condlti